Japan's Nomura Mulls Investing in Lehman: Report

Japan's Nomura Holdings is considering acquiring a stake in U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday.

Nomura has a pool of funds exceeding 200 billion yen ($1.86 billion) for investing in or acquiring U.S. and European financial institutions, the Japanese brokerage's chief executive, Kenichi Watanabe, told Yomiuri in an interview.

Watanabe said Lehman was one of several candidates and that Nomura would decide whether to make an investment offer after confirming Lehman's business results, which could come as early as next week, and after checking share price moves.

"We are always considering a number of possible business moves," Nomura spokesman Eiji Miura told Reuters, but declined to comment further.

The state-controlled Korea Development Bank has also said that the subprime mortgage-hit Lehman was a possible acquisition target.

Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group earlier this week denied a media report that it may bid for a stake in Lehman.